Putin hails ‘compromises’ with Turkey in Erdogan talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin hails Moscow and Ankara’s ability to find “compromises” as he hosts Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks.

In recent years, the two powers have clashed in particular in Syria, where Moscow and Ankara support opposing camps in the civil war. They also found themselves on different sides in last year’s conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Negotiations are sometimes difficult — but with a final positive result,” Putin says at his residence in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.

He adds that the two countries “have learned to find compromises favorable to both parties.”

Erdogan, who regularly meets with his Russian counterpart, says he believes there are great benefits in “Turkey and Russia keeping stronger relations each passing day.”

In Syria, the two countries last year sponsored a ceasefire deal in the northwestern Idlib region, home to the last major jihadist and rebel stronghold in northwest Syria.

“The steps we have taken with Russia related to Syria are of utmost importance,” Erdogan tells Putin. “The peace there depends on Turkey-Russia relations.”